Hitachi DVPF4E Vcr Combo

This combi was bought for me as a Christmas present in 2003. It went from hero to zero in 1 week after only 22 months of modest use by destroying several prized videos. On inspection the whole video mechanism was found to be falling apart and worn out. Cheap nylon and plastic runners are expected to move upon unlubricated metal slots which will almost certainly fail in no time. I Checked the Hitachi site and their search engine could find nothing concerning this machine. To me this says it all. After a few years they don't want to know. Why?, because they assume that EVERYONE keeps changing their equipment as new more upto the minute techno gear is introduced. This machine is an example of the short term mentality that drives this market.